Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Typhoon "Pepeng" (international name: Parma) has gained strength as it continues to move towards the general direction of Northern Luzon, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Wednesday.

In its 11 p.m. weather bulletin, PAGASA said Pepeng was seen 750 kilometers east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, and was packing maximum sustained winds of 135 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 160 kph.

The typhoon is forecast to move west northwestward at 26 kph.

No public storm warning signal has been raised since the weather disturbance is still too far to affect any part of the country within the next 24 hours, PAGASA said.

By Thursday evening, Pepeng is expected to be at 440 kilometers east of Virac, Catanduanes, the state-run weather bureau said.

By Friday evening, the typhoon is forecast to be at 250 kilometers north northeast of Virac, or 270 kms east of Casigiran, Aurora.

Pepeng is expected to be at 270 kilometers north of Casiguran, or 80 kilometers east northeast of Aparri, Cagayan by Saturday evening, PAGASA said.

The number of families depending on donated food and clothing in evacuation centers has reached more than half a million, the biggest the Department of Social Welfare and Development has had to respond to in so many years.

A woman died in a noontime blaze that razed almost a hundred houses in sitio Villamangga of barangay Opao, Mandaue City. There is suspicion of arson, but authorities are still investigating the real cause of the blaze.

Charred to death was Eulalia Ytol, 56, who went back inside her burning house to retrieve some valuables.

The fire was tapped at 11:24 a.m., but the firefighters found it difficult to reach the area as there is no access road.

Mandaue City Fire Marshal Oscar Mayol said that the firemen had to connect several lengths to the hose just to reach the area. Willy Ytol, husband of the fatality, said that he and his wife along with a daughter and a granddaughter were already in a safe area with some of their valuables.

Cebu City acting mayor Michael Rama yesterday met with members of City River Management Commission and Coastal Management Board to discuss measures on how the city can react in case a flood hits the city.

Fifteen villages in Taguig City remain submerged in knee to chest-deep floods left by tropical storm "Ondoy," as the local government continues its rescue and relief efforts to help affected residents.

Aside from going after unscrupulous traders jacking up prices of their products in the wake of tropical storm "Ondoy" (Ketsana), the Department of Trade and Industry will also pin down vendors of "tainted" bottled water.

Bar examinees who lost their exam permits due to tropical storm Ondoy (international codename Ketsana) should coordinate with the Supreme Court's Bar Confidant to get their new permit, an official said Wednesday.

MANILA - Sulpicio Lines Inc., owner of sunken vessel MV Princess of the Stars, said that its efforts to get back to the passenger-shipping business are for its thousands of employees and other stakeholders who rely on the company's operation.

Environmental lawyer Benjamin Cabrido described the resolution passed by the members of the Provincial Board recognizing the prerogative of the governor to develop the controversial Balili property as a manifestation that the legislative body succumbs to the pressures exerted against them by House Deputy Speaker Pablo Garcia, father of the governor.

IF Cebu Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez is to be believed, Cebu Province is left without a governor for three days now. Sanchez said there was no communication from the Office of the Governor that Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is out of the country until Oct. 5.

Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña is extending his leave of absence for another 30 days pending the outcome of the investigation conducted by the police on allegations that his only son, Miguel, threatened the lady friend of his girlfriend.

The Office of the Ombudsman Visayas is looking into the veracity of the complaint filed by a group of brokers and importers in Cebu regarding the alleged harassment and extortion activities perpetrated by remnants of the dreaded Kuratong Baleleng Gang in the Port of Cebu.

United States Ambassador to Manila Kristie Kenney assured the Philippines on Wednesday that the killings of two American troops in a roadside bombing in Sulu would not dampen Washington's enthusiasm in helping the Philippines in its fight against terrorism.

The census on population in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) would push through despite difficulties facing enumerators, the head of the region's National Statistics Office said Wednesday.

GOVERNMENT AND National Democratic Front (NDF) peace negotiating panels will resume talks next week to iron out differences on a safe conduct pass scheme, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Avelino I. Razon, Jr., said yesterday.

Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez said she hoped her critics would finally put to rest allegations that she had been remiss in her duties and had been the protector of the First Family, a day after the impeachment complaint against her was dismissed at the House of Representatives.

Manila policemen were preparing murder charges on Wednesday against a young man who admitted he killed and then beheaded his 59-year-old employer in Quiapo over the weekend because he had not been paid his wages for two weeks.

UNITED NATIONS - Many world leaders have expressed support for a proposal that would earmark $100 billion a year for the next decade for concrete actions to curb greenhouse gases and help countries cope with the impact of climate change, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

(UPDATE 2) At least 75 people were killed and thousands more trapped underneath rubble after a major earthquake hit Indonesia's Sumatra island on Wednesday, officials said, with fears the death toll would yet rise.

Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo on Tuesday pushed for tighter regulation of the world's leading social networking site, Facebook, after he claimed to be a victim of a "malicious attack" by one of its members.

Rachel "Che" Tiongson, the estranged partner of Deputy National Security Adviser Luis "Chavit" Singson, on Wednesday withdrew the civil case she filed against him in August for the sake of their five children.

Despite persistent ghost stories about the Film Center of the Philippines building, the Senate leadership is bent on transferring the chamber's offices there to save money. THE SENATE is planning to move to the adjacent Manila Film Center within the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex in Pasay City, with the chamber's leaders saying the move could save the government hundreds of millions of pesos in rental fees.

DHAKA, Bangladesh - Bangladesh on Wednesday awarded a farmer who killed more than 83,000 rats and launched a monthlong campaign nationwide to kill millions more, to protect crops and reduce the need for food imports.

PARIS - The United Nations on Wednesday declared the tango tradition of Argentina and Uruguay a world cultural treasure, adding its sultry dance steps and melancholy song lyrics to UNESCO's heritage list.

Tropical storm "Parma" was expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility late Wednesday afternoon and would be given the local name "Pepeng," the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration said.

Ogden Nash - "The trouble with a kitten is that when it grows up, it's always a cat."